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Sheikh Muhammed bin Abdul Wahab proved himself a Mujaddid of the first rank and a worthy successor of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Ibn Taimiya.
It must also be noted that his writings, his speeches, his actions and his call were all about the religion of Islam as practised and preached by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) himself, passed on from him to the Companions and their followers. This is the true Islam, the Islam of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) himself. Ibn Abdul-Wahhab did not deviate save possibly by human error that everyone is susceptible to from that true Islam even in the slightest of matters of practice or belief.
On the political realm, matters were also straying from the pattern originally established by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his rightly-guided Caliphs. From the time of Muawiyyah, the Umayyad dynasty was established, which in itself symbolised a break from the previous form of Islamic government. The Umayyads ruled from about 40 to 132 A.H. (658 to 750 C.E.). Afterwards, what could be termed “the official caliphate” lied in the hands of the Abbasids, who ruled from 750 to 1258 C.E. Obviously, during that lengthy period of time, their rule over some parts of the Islamic world was nominal at most. Of course, the momentous occasion that occurred during that time that shocked the entire Muslim world was the fall of Baghdad, the seat of the Caliphate, at the hands of the Mongol hoards in 656 A.H. (1258 C.E.). This shock led to a form of conservatism that swept through the Muslim lands, leading in particular to the closing the door of ijtihad (a topic that shall be discussed in some detail below). The next important seat of the Caliphate was the Ottoman Empire, which was still a dominant but greatly weakened force by the time of ibn Abdul-Wahhab. However, the “seats” of the Caliphate did not prevent other smaller governments from appearing in various lands. Thus, along with Ottomans, during the time of ibn Abdul-Wahhab, one finds the Shiite Safavid dynasty in Persia and the Moghul Empire in India. Some say that the state of the Muslims began to steadily decline after the seventh century Hijri (after the fall of Baghdad). By the time of ibn Abdul-Wahhab, Islam had reached its lowest state in history on a number of fronts. Politically speaking, the Ottoman Empire had lost much of its authority and prestige. Many areas had become semi-independent. Ignorance spread throughout the lands. Furthermore, the Europeans were becoming formidable opponents and were extracting great favours through pressure on the Sultans. Religious speaking, since the time of the Abbasids, when foreign “sciences” and philosophies were being translated into Arabic, the deviation from the pure Islamic teachings became greater and greater. The influence of Greek, Indian and Persian thought became greater, effecting the beliefs and practices of common Muslims. Hence, new schools of belief developed, heresies became widespread and non-Islamic mystical practices began to hold sway. At the same time, the true fiqh schools became dormant and ineffective, as many scholars claimed that the door to ijtihad had become closed.
One can get a glimpse of the state of affairs in Vassiliev’s words. Speaking about a time shortly after ibn Abdul-Wahhab’s death about the state of affairs of Ottoman lands: “Since 1803 the so-called Wahhabis had put all kinds of obstacles in the way of pilgrims from the Ottoman empire, particularly those from Syria and Egypt. The pilgrims were accompanied by musicians, playing tambourines, drums and other instruments [such as flutes]. Many pilgrims brought alcohol with them and it was not unusual to find groups of prostitutes in the caravans. All this could not fail to provoke the so-called Wahhabis’ hostility because of its incompatibility with their religious and moral standards.” Later, he also commented, “According to Bazili, ‘the so-called Wahhabis demanded not without reason that there should be no boys nor other beardless persons in the caravans.’” Further, Vassiliev writes about the reforms brought to Makkah as a result of its occupation by the followers of ibn Abdul-Wahhab. The worship of local deities was replaced by the worship of Christian saints, which absorbed the earlier cults after an appropriate process of transformation. Islam [the author should have stated ‘Muslims’] followed the same route. The cult of saints in the Muslim world is chiefly of local, pre-Islamic origin; but the earlier idols and Christian saints were replaced by Islamic preachers, the Prophet’s Companions and prominent ulama [scholars]. The spread of the cult of saints was closely related to the activities of mystics. To attract wide numbers of believers, they ascribed to their saints the ability to perform miracles.
Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhab referred to them as tawagheet or false objects of worship. These deceased people were prayed to, sought forgiveness from and so forth. People would actually say things like, “O so and so, you know my sins, so please forgive me and have mercy on me.” People would sacrifice animals for them and believe that they could bring about harm or benefit. (Saint cults were very important and popular in the Ottoman Empire during the time of Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab. Attempting to correct this evil practice was not a simple step. Vassiliev notes, “The Sunni ulama [scholars] also supported the worship of saints; everybody who opposed this ran the risk of being assassinated.
Muhammed ibn Abdul-Wahhaab once wrote all praises be to Allah alone, I am not calling to a Sufi fiqh or theological school. Nor am I calling to any of the Imams that I greatly respect, such as ibn al-Qayyim, al-Dhahabi, ibn Katheer and others. Instead, I am calling to Allah alone, Who has no partners, and I am calling to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) which he advised the first and the last of his nation to follow. And I hope that I never reject any truth that should come to me. In fact, I call to witness Allah, His angels and all of His creation that if any word of truth should come to me from him1 I should then accept it with complete submission and I should completely discard any statement from my Imams that contradicts it save for [my Imam] the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) who only spoke the truth. “The obligation of following the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and avoiding innovations, even if they have become widespread among the majority of the masses.” On this point, ibn Abdul-Wahhab is referring to the matters of a religious nature or, in other words, actions or beliefs that one claims brings a person closer to Allah, such as how one is to worship Allah, pray, fast and so forth. However, actions that are not of a “religious” nature and fall within what is permitted by the law are not considered heresies.
The proper belief in Tawheed is comprised of three interrelated components: (1) The belief in Allah alone as the Lord and Creator of this and all creation (Tawheed al-ruboobiyyah); (2) The belief in the absolute uniqueness of Allah’s names and attributes, wherein He does not share in any of the attributes of the created nor does any created being share in any of the attributes of the Divine (Tawheed al-asmaa wa al-sifaat); (3) The belief in and practice of dedicating all acts of worship to Allah and Allah alone (Tawheed al-uloohiyya or tauheed alibaadah). All three are essential to make a person a Muslim and a believer. All three were emphasized and taught by ibn Abdul-Wahhab. “Say: If you (truly) love Allah, then follow me: Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful” (Aali-Imraan 31). Closely in association with the previous point comes the question of loyalty and disassociation. One cannot be a true Muslim until he believes in Allah alone as the only one worthy of worship and he denies all other forms of false worship. Thus, one must abandon polytheism (shirk). Indeed, one must also oppose and hate shirk and all those who stand for shirk, this should be a natural consequence of the love of Allah in one’s heart. Ibn Abdul-Wahhab was well aware of the conditions that must be met before anyone could be declared a disbeliever. For him, the first thing that everyone must know or be taught is the true meaning of monotheism (Tawheed). No one can be declared a disbeliever until Tawheed is explained to him and then if, after that exposition, the person obstinately insists on following the deeds of polytheism (shirk) and disbelief (kufr). Ibn Abdul-Wahhab stated, “We declare as disbelievers those who associate partners with Allah in His Godhood after the proofs of the falsehood of shirk have been made clear to him.” Also, no one can be declared a disbeliever simply on conjecture. Ibn Abdul Wahhab stated, “Whoever outwardly shows [an attachment] to Islam and we suspect that he has negated Islam, we do not declare him a disbeliever based on that conjecture, as what is apparent is not overridden by conjecture. Similarly, we do not declare as a disbeliever anyone from whom we do not know disbelief simply based on a negating factor that is mentioned about him that we have not verified.” Furthermore, no one can be declared a disbeliever except on those points that the Quran and Sunnah clearly declare to be disbelief. For example, the committing of a major sin, such as adultery, does not mean that a person has fallen into disbelief, as opposed to what the Khawarij and other extremist groups have believed. Thus ibn Abdul Wahhab stated, “We do not declare any Muslim to be a disbeliever simply due to a sin he committed.” Finally, he would only declare people disbelievers on the basis of issues that were agreed upon among the scholars.
The pillars of Islam are five. The first of them are the two statements testifying to the faith. Then come the [remaining] four pillars. If one affirms them but does not perform them out of laziness, we, even if we should fight him over what he has done, do not declare him a disbeliever for leaving those acts. The scholars have differed over the disbelief of one who abandons those acts out of laziness, without rejecting them [as obligations]. And we do not declare anyone a disbeliever save based on what all the scholars agree upon, and that is the two testimonies of faith. “Whoever of you sees an evil must then change it with his hand. If he is not able to do so, then [he must change it] with his tongue. And if he is not able to do so, then [he must change it] with his heart. And that is the slightest [effect of] faith.” (Recorded by Muslim.) Since shirk and disbelief are the greatest of all possible evils, ibn Abdul-Wahhab used the means that Allah had given him to remove the actual sources of such shirk. In his abridged version of Zaad al-Maad, ibn Abdul-Wahhab recounts some of the important points related to masjid al Dharar, an “opposition mosque” set up by hypocrites during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to take people away from the Prophet’s mosque. In the narration of ibn Hishaam, this mosque was demolished. Ibn Abdul Wahhab then says that if such was the case with that mosque, “There is more of a right and obligation to do so with the sites of shirk. Similar should be done with bars, pubs and locations of evil.” In one of his letters, he also wrote, “It is not allowed for the places of shirk and false gods to remain even for one day if someone has the means to destroy them and bring them to an end. This is the ruling for the tombs built over the graves that are taken as idols worshipped besides Allah and the stones from which people seek blessings, make vows, kiss [and so forth]. It is not allowed for any of them to remain on the face of the earth when one has the power to remove them.”
A further aspect of ordering good and eradicating evil is what is known as jihad, the ultimate goal of which is truly nothing more than implementing the good and putting an end to evil. Muhammed ibn Abdul Wahhab also moved up to this next level when the time was proper. Jihad and the taking or risking of lives is obviously not a light matter. It must be resorted to only when necessary and when the proper conditions are met. Although Muhammed ibn Abdul Wahhab had been threatened and his life put at risk on a number of occasions, he never resorted to jihad until after moving to al Diriyyah and entering into the pact with Muhammed ibn Saud. Even then, he only resorted to it when the enemies of his call left him no other option but to fight and defend this noble mission. He himself stated, “We have not fought anyone to this day save in defence of life and honour. We have fought against those who have come against us into our land and they do not leave us be.” Furthermore, he would never fight until “the proof was established against” a people, that is, only after the falsehood of ascribing partners to Allah (shirk) was conveyed to them and yet they insisted on following shirk and refusing true monotheism (Tawheed). Thus, ibn Abdul Wahhab wrote after mentioning some idolatrous practices. In summary, one can see that the salient and “revivalist” teachings of ibn Abdul-Wahhab were truly not more than a return to the pure and unadulterated teachings of the Quran and Sunnah.
However, of course, ibn Abdul-Wahhab highlighted those matters that needed the greatest attention given his time and environment. He started with the most important issue: freeing one’s worship from the filth of shirk.
